Formula 1: Crazy Mercedes stat proves how strange 2022 was

Mercedes finished the 2022 season without a Formula 1 constructor championship for the first time since 2013, but it’s what they did accomplish which stands out.

Red Bull’s 17 victories throughout the 22-race 2022 season led them to their first Formula 1 constructor championship since they won four in a row from 2010 to 2013, and it ended Mercedes’ eight-year streak atop the standings. Ferrari also finished ahead of Mercedes, something which hadn’t happened since the 2012 season.

But despite a disappointing 2022 season for the Silver Arrows, it’s what they actually did do which illustrates just how strange of a year it was.

Toward the mid-point of the season, it seemed as though Sky Sports pundits such as Damon Hill were predicting Mercedes 1-2 finishes every week, to the point where it was almost like a running joke when they’d once again come nowhere close to winning.

In race 21 of 22, however, the Brackley-based team actually pulled it off, with George Russell winning the Sao Paulo Grand Prix at Interlagos Circuit ahead of Lewis Hamilton in second place.

That 1-2 finish meant that they finished the 2022 season with more 1-2 finishes than they did in 2021.

As crazy as it might seem, Mercedes did not record a 1-2 finish during their eighth consecutive constructor championship-winning season in 2021. In fact, the only team that did was McLaren. Their 1-2 finish in the Italian Grand Prix at Monza was their lone win of the season, and they finished in fourth place in the constructor standings.

Mercedes won nine of 22 races on the 2021 schedule. But they only needed to win one in 2022 to do what they couldn’t do last year.

Mercedes’ 1-2 finish in Brazil on Sunday, November 13 was their first 1-2 finish in more than two full years. They hadn’t recorded such a finish since the 2020 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola, which took place on Sunday, November 1. Hamilton won that race ahead of Valtteri Bottas in second place.

They had gone 46 races without a 1-2 finish. During that span, Red Bull secured five while McLaren and Ferrari each secured one.

Because it was Russell who won in Brazil, the 2022 season was Hamilton’s first winless season in his 16-year Formula 1 career. A win in 2022 would have given him 16 straight winning seasons, which would have been an all-time record. He instead still shares the record of 15 with Michael Schumacher following his worst career season. He also remains tied with Schumacher at seven world titles.